Update your security settings for Google Home to protect against eavesdropping

Google Home devices mute, but the microphone turns off completely. To use voice commands with your device while controlling how many voice data Google Assistant stores, you'll need to change some settings.

Chris Monroe / CNET

Security researchers have recently discovered a vulnerability that allows third-party apps to monitor households with specific smart speakers, including Google Home and Google Nest devices. The apps were installed on Google Home ($ 99 at Walmart) and displayed as Google Assistants. Some of these actions allow you to call Pandora, Spotify, YouTube Music, order pizza, or play music. [19659005] Unlike Amazon Echo devices with Alexa, where you need to enable third-party capabilities before you can use them, most of the Google Assistant actions are built into the software and require only a voice command to activate. Therefore, most of the responsibility for protecting the privacy of users at Google is borne because the affected apps have already been removed. However, there are still some things you can do to protect the privacy and security of your own Google Account.

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Here's what you can do if you're worried about your Google Home devices being hijacked to spy on you.

First, look at the actions you have activated.

Although Most Google Assistants No setup is required for specific actions, especially if you connect smart home devices such as lights and door locks to Google Home. To see a list of all the actions you have manually activated:

1. Open the Google Assistant app on your mobile device. (If you do not have the Assistant app, visit and download the iOS App Store or Google Play.)

2. Tap the search symbol (the small compass needle in a circle) in the lower left corner.

. 3 Scroll all the way down and tap your actions .

. 4 Tap Linked .

Google's Rick Osterloh discusses privacy at the company's recent event in New York.

Sarah Tew / CNET

From here you can see all the actions you have specifically authorized, probably music services (like Pandora or Spotify) or smart home devices (like Nest or Wemo). If you see any that you do not recognize or no longer need (for example, if you have changed the music service), you can delete them as follows:

1. Tap the icon (three horizontal lines) to the right of the linked service that you want to delete.

. 2 Scroll down to Account Status .

. 3 Tap Unlink .

. 4 When prompted by the app, tap Unlink .

Then review all the information Google Assistant provides for you.

First, you want to navigate to the Settings page, which lists all the information Google has in mind.

. 1 Open your Google homepage app.

. 2 Tap on your personal symbol (the small silhouette in a circle) in the lower right corner.

. 3 Under the heading tap Google Assistant on More Settings .

. 4 Select you from the menu bar at the top.

. 5 Tap your data in Assistant .

Here you can go back as far as your record contains all the information Google Assistant has stored about you. You can delete items one at a time by tapping the trash can icon next to each item. You can also follow the next steps to delete all items.

Any interaction with Google Home will be logged, including audio recordings of your voice commands, unless you instruct Google Assistant not to do so.

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Delete some or all of your private data.

Google Assistant stores audio recordings of all voice commands ever heard from Google Home (including false triggers), allowing the software to better understand your voice and better execute future commands, but is not critical to the operation of the device. To delete these and all other data from the screen your data in the wizard :

. 2 To the right of the search bar at the top of the page, tap the symbol of three stacked points .

. 3 Tap Delete activity from .

. 4 If you want to start with a clean sheet, tap All Time . Otherwise, you can delete all data collected in the last hour last hour or create a custom range for example, from the day you started Google Home until last month ,

. 5 The app prompts you to confirm that you want to delete your Google Assistant activity for the specified time period. Tap Delete to confirm.

. 6 The app displays "deletion completed". In the lower right corner, tap Got it to return to the main page Google Assistant Activity .

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Choose how often your data is deleted.

If you do not mind that Google Assistant remembers your recent interactions, you can choose to have your data automatically deleted after three or 18 months. From the main page Google Assistant Activity :

1. Scroll down to Keep the activity until you manually delete it and tap Select this option to automatically delete it .

. 2 Change the setting to 18 months or three months and tap Next .

. 3 When prompted by the app to confirm the change, scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Confirm .

. 4 Tap and click to return to the main page . Google Assistant Activity .

The Google Nest Hub has a physical mute button, but the Google Nest Hub Max with a webcam does not have a physical shutter around it Camera cover.

Chris Monroe / CNET

Stop all activity for the most extreme privacy option.

Instead of periodic deletes, you can set Google Assistant to stop keeping logs of your data. However, this can cause problems with how well Google Assistant works. If your privacy is of paramount importance to you and you occasionally want to deal with some glitches, read the information on the main page of Google Assistant Activity :

1. Scroll down to Web & App activity is on and tap Change setting .

. 3 Clear the check box next to Web and App Activity .

. 4 A screen pops up indicating that "interrupting web and app activity may limit or disable more personalized experiences in Google services." At the bottom of the screen, press Break to prevent Google from logging your activity. Please note that changing this setting does not delete any of your personal information from Google. It only prevents Google Assistant from recording more data in the future.

After you pause you & # 39; You return to the main page of Google Assistant Activity .

Intelligent speakers are not the only gadgets that pay attention to us – Sony's Aibo robot dog is just one of many intelligent devices on the planet Market that listen, watch and remember.

Tyler Lizenby / CNET

Now you do not need to specify an Open Season for your privacy or personal information in order to enjoy your Google Home Smart Speaker or Hub. This can be particularly important if you are concerned that Google will restart the August-interrupted, human-driven quality assurance program, in which auditors listened to records from many of the over 3.2 million Google Home devices in the wild.

Not to mention that intelligent speakers are just the beginning: Today robot dogs record your face and your voice Amazon uses human auditors to fix surveillance camera issues and releases Facebook for listening to video calls by employees .